Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Sales

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will launch a consultation on improving the home buying process, and if so, when.

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the obstacles to improving and speeding up the home buying process.

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mandate the timescale by which the Leasehold Property Enquiries form must be completed.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: At Spending Review 2015, the Government announced its plan to publish a call for evidence looking at the process of buying a selling a home. We understand that there are complexities involved and, therefore, will assess the evidence received in response to the call for evidence to determine what changes have the potential to make the greatest impact. The call for evidence will include consideration of the impact of leasehold on buying and selling homes, and will be launched in due course.

Leasehold: Sales

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the costs charged by a landlord to the purchaser of a leasehold property of providing (1) the notice of assignment or charge, (2) the certificate of compliance, (3) the deed of covenant, and (4) the stock transfer.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: At Budget 2016 the Government announced its plan to publish a call for evidence looking at the process of buying a home including the process of purchasing a leasehold property. The Government will assess the evidence received to determine what changes to the homebuying process can make the greatest impact including the transactional costs incurred by leaseholders.

Leasehold

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend the requirements of the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to require landlords of leasehold properties to belong to a redress scheme.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government is not persuaded that more burdensome approaches to regulate landlords would be effective. Leaseholders in dispute with their landlord can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England and the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales to seek redress.The Government is extending leaseholders’ access to redress by including provisions in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 that will address an irregularity concerning the inability of courts and tribunals to restrict recovery of a landlord’s legal costs from leaseholders as administrative charges, where they consider a restriction on recovery to be just and equitable. The Government plans to introduce related secondary legislation by summer 2017.

Security of Tenure: Domestic Violence

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they propose to lay regulations concerning the right to security of tenure for victims of domestic violence under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, and whether they will first consult organisations working with victims of domestic violence.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: We have introduced fixed term tenancies for all new council tenancies to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock and focus this valuable resource on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. This is essential with 1.24 million households on council waiting lists. The changes will apply to new tenants, but will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home.We are preparing the regulations which will set out the circumstances in which local authorities may exercise discretion to offer tenants seeking transfer further lifetime tenancies in limited circumstances. These will include where tenants downsize into a smaller home, move for work or to escape harm, including domestic violence. We will ensure that relevant organisations including those working with victims of domestic abuse will be able to feed in their views into the draft regulations.We aim to lay the regulations in the Winter.

Council Housing

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in council housing rents on new council housing and the existing stock.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Our decision on social rent reductions was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing, whilst protecting the most vulnerable. The housing benefit bill for the social sector in England rose by a quarter over ten years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. We believe that local authorities and private registered providers will be able to find and make efficiencies to accommodate the new rent settlement. The Government remains committed to delivering 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2021.

Electrical Safety

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made to bring forward regulations to introduce electrical safety checks, as set out in the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government is committed to protecting tenants and, as part of this, introduced the enabling power into the Housing and Planning Act 2016, allowing regulations to protect private sector tenants from electrical hazards in the home to be set at a later date.This is a highly technical area and we need to explore appropriate options with relevant experts in the sector to test the most effective approach. My Department intends to set up a working group to identify what, if any, legislative requirements are needed and envisage this work being completed this year. This will ensure any introductions are beneficial and strike the right balance by protecting tenants while not over burdening the sector.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Commonwealth

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to strengthen the capacity of the Commonwealth to prevent and resolve conflicts between or within its members; and whether they will seek to provide the Secretary-General with greater resources for that purpose.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are committed to strengthening the capacity of the Commonwealth towards preventing and resolving conflicts between member states, including through the Secretariat and the Good Offices of the Secretary-General. We welcome the work already done by the Secretary-General in this area, most recently her appointment of a Special Envoy to strengthen multi-party democracy towards inclusive presidential elections in the Maldives in 2018.We will work closely with Patricia Scotland and partners as we build towards the UK hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Spring 2018. We believe she is the right person to drive through reform, strengthen the Commonwealth’s voice and unite members behind the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.A key strand of strengthening the Commonwealth’s focus on democracy, the promotion of the rule of law and preventing conflict is the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work in promoting democratic values, including through election observation missions. We welcome these missions and will work with the Secretary-General to take forward this important programme.

Department for International Development

South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the agreement between the governments of Sudan and South Sudan and the World Food Programme to transport humanitarian assistance to South Sudan via Sudan, in the light of that agreement's extension.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: On the basis of an agreement between the World Food Programme (WFP) and the governments of Sudan and South Sudan, the WFP have been working with relevant government authorities in both countries and the region to ensure that their planes are able to deliver much needed humanitarian supplies into South Sudan. For instance, from January to June 2016 alone WFP managed to deliver close to 21,300 metric tons of cereals, pulses and vegetable oil to Upper Nile state. With the six-month extension to this agreement, WFP plans to deliver another 10,000 metric tons of food from Sudan to South Sudan. This represents a pragmatic approach to delivering vital humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict in South Sudan, and we welcome the support of the Government of Sudan in facilitating the delivery of food assistance across the border. DFID Sudan and DFID South Sudan are monitoring the situation in relation to the ongoing crisis in South Sudan, and will keep working closely with WFP to help maintain essential transport corridors for humanitarian assistance.

Department for Education

Teachers: Resignations

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of teachers left that profession (1) less than one year from starting teaching, and (2) within five years of starting teaching, between 2011 and 2016.

Lord Nash: We recognise that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload. The Department publishes statistics showing the percentage of qualified teachers who enter teaching within a year of completing their training and who remain in service each year afterwards. This information is available in Table 8 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release which was published on June 30th 2016. The latest statistics show that 87% of qualified teachers that entered service during 2014 were still in post one year later. The following table shows the one-year retention rate has remained within one percentage point of this level during the last five years. Year qualifiedRecorded in service byStill in post after one year2010November 201087%2011November 201188%2012November 201288%2013November 201387%2014November 201487% The latest available statistics also show that 70% of qualified teachers that entered service during 2010 were still in post five years later.  Year qualifiedRecorded in service byStill in post after five years2006March 200773%2007March 200874%2008March 200974%2009March 201072%2010November 201070% Over the longer-term five year retention rate has remained stable, of the cohort of newly qualified teachers who entered teaching in 1996, 71% were still teaching in the state-funded sector five-years later.

Apprentices: Lone Parents

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) female, and (2) male, single parents have (a) started, and (b) completed, apprenticeships in each of the last five years.

Lord Nash: Information on whether an apprenticeship is undertaken by a single parent is not centrally collected. The table below shows apprenticeship starts by gender, 2010/11 to 2014/15:  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Starts% of totalStarts% of totalStarts% of totalStarts% of totalStarts% of totalFemale245,99053.8%276,22053.1%279,00054.7%232,94052.9%264,75053.0%Male211,22046.2%244,36046.9%231,21045.3%207,48047.1%235,14047.0%Total457,200100.0%520,600100.0%510,200100.0%440,400100.0%499,900100.0%

Apprentices: Part-time Employment

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many apprenticeship placements have been advertised as part-time in each of the last five years.

Lord Nash: Information on whether an apprenticeship has been advertised as part time is not collected centrally. Apprenticeships can be advertised in many ways, including on the GOV.UK website. Apprenticeships are full-time jobs; therefore an apprentice should work at least 30 hours per week. In exceptional circumstances, such as where the apprentice has caring responsibilities, a minimum of 16 hours per week may be agreed between the apprentice and the employer. In circumstances where the apprentice works fewer than 30 hours per week, the duration of the apprenticeship must be extended in proportion so that the minimum duration requirements are still met.

Design and Technology

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to including Design and Technology as a science option within the English Baccalaureate.

Lord Nash: Design and Technology (D&T) is a subject that can inspire and equip young people for further study and careers in a range of design and engineering fields. Our reforms to the D&T curriculum and qualifications move the subject on from its craft-based routes to be aligned with high-tech industry practice. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for pupils to study other subjects of their choice. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils. As the EBacc covers up to eight GCSEs, this leaves room for other choices, including D&T.

Design and Technology

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many schools Design and Technology is not part of the curriculum.

Lord Nash: Design and Technology (D&T) is part of the national curriculum, and is therefore a compulsory subject in maintained schools for pupils aged 5 to 14. The national curriculum is a benchmark of an excellent, academically rigorous education that academies can use and improve upon. The Department does not collect information on how many schools do not include D&T as part of their curriculum.

Design and Technology

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have applied to study Design and Technology in teacher training colleges.

Lord Nash: The latest published data, from 30 June 2016, shows that 1,370 applications have been submitted for Design and Technology ITT courses, either to a university or a school-led route.

Design and Technology

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of Design and Technology studies to the UK economy.

Lord Nash: Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are vital subjects in our modern economy and there is a widespread demand for employees with knowledge and skills in these subjects. That is why we have worked closely with key organisations in the sector, such as the James Dyson Foundation, the Design and Technology Association and the Royal Academy of Engineering to ensure the content of Design and Technology curriculum and qualifications set out the knowledge and skills sought by leading engineering employers and are aligned with high-tech industry practice. The new GCSE and A level begin to be taught from September 2017.

Special Educational Needs

Lord Lingfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the findings published in June in Reporting on the HCP process: Bren Prendergast's parent participatory research, in particular in relation to the rights of children and young people with disabilities and their parents and carers.

Lord Nash: We are monitoring Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans in a number of ways and have put in place a range of measures to help drive up their quality. In producing EHC plans, local authorities must take account of the views, wishes and feelings of children, young people and parents and engage them fully throughout the process. We annually survey local authorities to identify, for example, the number of EHC plans in place, how many have been completed within the statutory deadline, and how many statements of Special Educational Needs have been reviewed and replaced by an EHCP. The data is attached and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2016 Our team of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) advisers regularly visit local authorities to assess how well they are implementing the SEND reforms, and to offer support and challenge. In early 2016, we provided free training for all local authorities, which parents also attended, on producing quality EHC plans. Between July and October this year, we will conduct a large-scale national survey to assess the experiences that young people with SEND, and parents, have of EHC plans. Departmental officials regularly meet groups of parents, and young people, to discuss a range of things in relation to SEND, including EHCPs. Bren Prendergast’s report provides helpful additional information.



Statements_of_SEN_and_EHC_plans_England_2016
(Excel SpreadSheet, 314.35 KB)

Special Educational Needs

Lord Lingfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address delays in the production of education, health and care plans in cases where (1) plans are produced by a local authority outside the timescale specified in regulations, and (2) plans are not produced for the start of a new school or academic year where a young person is transferring to a new stage of education at the age of (a) 16, and (b) 18.

Lord Lingfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which local authority performance targets for special educational needs teams, or individual staff within those teams, align with current legislation and guidance, in particular in relation to (1) the production of education, health and care plans, and (2) the number of placements in special schools; and what actions they propose to take in response to that assessment.

Lord Nash: Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans. Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families. The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase. Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan. The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.

Department for Work and Pensions

Lone Parents: Low Pay

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) female, and (2) male, single parents earn less than the median average income.

Lord Freud: Estimates for the numbers of female and male single parents who earn less than the median average income are shown in the table below: Millions, 2014/15, United Kingdom Below 2014/15 median household incomeNumber of female Lone Parents in work:0.8Number of male Lone Parents in work:0.1 Average income is defined as the median equivalised net household income, where median income divides the population of individuals, when ranked by income, into two equal sized groups.These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income analysis.

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that Jobcentre staff and Jobcentre Plus advisers understand fully, and respond effectively to, mental health problems.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions supports its staff in developing the skills required to identify and effectively support claimants with mental health conditions. A number of learning products such as ‘Introduction to Working with People with a Mental Health Condition’ and ‘Supporting Customers with a Vulnerability’ have been specifically developed to build capability for Jobcentre staff. Jobcentre staff also promote “Disability Confident” which is an initiative that includes working with employers to show that employing disabled people, including those with mental health conditions, is good for the individual, business and society.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in reforming benefit sanctions and in preventing hardship to children and other dependent family members.

Lord Freud: We keep the operation of the sanctions processes under constant review to ensure they continue to function effectively and fairly, to promote positive behaviours. Where we identify an issue, we act to put it right.Following the recommendations from the Oakley Review and the subsequent report ‘Benefit sanctions policy beyond the Oakley Review’ by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, we have made a number of improvements to the Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) sanction systems, particularly around communications to claimants and safeguarding measures for those who maybe vulnerable.We are now focussing our efforts on continuing with the current improvements in JSA and ESA, to ensure that all the agreed recommendations and improvements can continue to be delivered in Universal Credit.We also have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene, as a result of their sanction.

Home Office

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many facial images are held on the Police National Database.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: As of 15th July 2016 there were over 19 million custody images, which may include images other than of faces, uploaded by forces onto the PND. Of these, 16,644,143 had been enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery and are searchable using automated facial recognition software.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many facial images held on the Police National Database are of individuals who have not been charged with an offence.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold this information.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the present system of up-loading, storage and searching of facial images on the Police National Database complies with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Review on the Use and Retention of Custody Images will examine the current legal and operational framework governing custody images, including the Human Rights Act 1998. This Review will be published in due course.

Radicalism: Schools

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many instances of radicalised behaviour have been reported by teachers as a result of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 coming into force.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Information from the police is that between 1st July 2015 and 30th March 2016, around 1080 referrals were made from schools which related to concerns about vulnerable people potentially being drawn into terrorism. It is not possible to determine how many of these were as a result of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which places no legal obligation on teachers to make such referrals. Many referrals need no further action after careful assessment, and others receive support for concerns unrelated to terrorism. Individuals assessed as being at risk may be offered support through Channel, the voluntary and confidential support programme for those who are vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism

Firearms: Compensation

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the total compensation payments arising from the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The rounded total of compensation payments made under the two Acts was £97 million.